Football superstar Lionel Messi celebrated his return to Argentina's squad for World Cup qualifiers with twin goals for Inter Miami that sealed the MLS Supporters' Shield for them. Messi found the net twice in Miami's 3-2 win over the Columbus crew as he won a staggering 46th trophy in his illustrious career.
This is the first major silverware for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer (MLS) since debuting in 2020 when the franchise expansion happened. They secured the trophy with 68 points in 32 games as Miami managed to somehow keep Columbus Crew at bay in a thrilling encounter. Apart from Messi, Luis Suarez also scored a goal after the 63rd minute that helped them seal three points.
In fact, the credit goes to Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender who saved the penalty kick from Cucho Hernandez in the closing stages of the match. Coming back to Messi, this is his second title with the club and his long list of achievements includes the FIFA World Cup trophy, 10 La Liga trophies, four Champions League titles and two Copa America trophies among many others.
Meanwhile, Messi has returned to Argentina's squad for the first time since lifting the Copa America trophy for the team against Colombia on July 14. He had suffered a right ankle injury during the match and had walked off midway with tears in his eyes. However, since recovering from injury, Messi has played every game for Inter Miami and has displayed his top skills yet again.
Argentina squad for World Cup Qualifiers
GOALKEEPERS: Gerónimo Rulli, Walter Benítez, Juan Musso.
DEFENDERS: Gonzalo Montiel, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Otamendi, Germán Pezzella, Leonardo Balerdi, Marcos Acuña, Nicolás Tagliafico.
MIDFIELDERS: Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernández, Giovani Lo Celso, Thiago Almada, Guido Rodríguez, Nico Paz.
FORWARDS: Nicolas Gonzalez, Lautaro Martínez, Alejandro Garnacho, Julián Álvarez, Valentin Carboni, Valentin Carboni, Paulo Dybala, Lionel Messi.
